Summary
Highlights
The video introduces the Second Red Scare, a renewed campaign to eliminate communist influence in the United States after World War II. It distinguishes it from the first Red Scare, noting that the second was primarily focused on eradicating communists, fueled by the rise of communism globally and coinciding with the larger Cold War containment policy. Both Democrats and Republicans supported this anti-communist agenda due to the nuclear threat.
One significant policy was President Truman's Executive Order 9835, which created the Federal Employee Loyalty Program. This program investigated over 2 million federal employees for communist beliefs or ties. While Soviet spies had infiltrated programs like the Manhattan Project, the board primarily focused on rooting out employees with 'dangerous political beliefs' rather than actual espionage. This created pressure for Americans to conform to anti-communist ideology.
President Eisenhower later signed an executive order targeting gay and lesbian federal employees, known as the Lavender Scare. This policy was based on the premise that homosexual individuals, due to societal prejudice, were vulnerable to Soviet blackmail and could be coerced into undermining U.S. policy.
The Red Scare also extended to the private sector, particularly the film industry, which was seen as influential over public opinion. The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) investigated Hollywood, leading to the 'Hollywood Ten' – film directors and writers who refused to cooperate and were subsequently blacklisted, held in contempt of Congress, and lost their employment.
The most sensational aspect of the Second Red Scare was McCarthyism. In 1950, Senator Joseph McCarthy falsely claimed to have a list of 205 communists in the State Department. Despite no evidence, he reiterated and exaggerated these claims, even attacking those who challenged him, including a senator who subsequently lost his election. McCarthy's lies spread fear and intimidated the political community.
McCarthy's influence began to crumble in 1954 when his televised Senate investigation into the army, which he claimed was full of communists, exposed his recklessness and deceit to millions. The Senate censured him, marking the end of McCarthyist sensationalism, though the broader anti-communist policies of the Red Scare continued. McCarthy's actions ruined many lives and stifled government policymaking, as lawmakers feared proposing any policy that could be labeled as communist.